Influenza doesn’t seem like a life threatening infection. Most people have had the flu at least once in their lives, so it’s easy to dismiss it and take it for granted. However, there are complications that can stem from a simple flu and they can be life threatening. There are many strains of the flu and some of them have more severe effects on the body than others. There are even certain “super flu” viruses, like the AH1N1 virus, that have caused so many deaths around the world. It’s better to play it safe and protect ourselves against the flu rather than take our chances that our immune systems can handle it. Your best bet against preventing flu viruses from infecting your body is through immunization.
Types of Flu Vaccines
There are two ways to get vaccinated against influenza. The two types of vaccines are different in terms of composition and how they are administered, but despite their differences, both types of vaccines have been proven effective and safe to use.
- Traditional Flu Shot. The traditional flu shot is administered using a needle through the arm. It’s not as painful as one might think because the needle and syringe used for this vaccine isn’t as big as that used in other vaccines. Traditional flu vaccines contain dead viruses which are introduced to our immune system. Since the viruses in the shot are inactive, it cannot cause the flu in the person injected with the vaccine. However, a person may experience a few mild side effects after getting the shot.
- Nasal Spray. This is good news for those who are afraid of needles. The nasal spray version of the vaccine contains live viruses that have been weakened to the point that our immune systems can easily take care of it. Side effects of the nasal spray are a little more prominent as it can cause congestion, runny nose and fatigue. Since the viruses in the nasal spray are weakened, but still very much alive, it is only administered to people aged 2 - 49 who are not pregnant, and are healthy enough to fight off the viruses.
Why Do We Need a Flu Shot Each Year?
Unlike most vaccines that are administered once with booster shots every so often, it is highly recommended that flu shots are taken every year around the time when flu season begins. The reason for this is that there are too many strains of the influenza virus out there that it’s a good idea to just cram them all into a person’s system. What scientists do is they study the strains of the flu that have been going around and try to predict which strains may make an appearance during flu season. The vaccine formulation changes every year to make sure that the most common strains for that season are covered. The only downside to this is that one can still catch a strain of the flu that isn’t covered by the vaccine.
Flu shots can also be administered before a person travels to a country with a different climate and a different set of common virus strains that may cause the flu. This not only prevents people from catching the flu while on their trip, it also prevents those people from bringing in a rare, hard to treat influenza strain into their home country and spreading the virus to people they come in contact with.
